1912 Watch Tower - A2Z.org

of the things which he possesseth."--Luke 12:15.NOT ALL THE POOR are to be blessed and toinherit the Kingdom of God, etc., as setforth in this lesson. We are to notice particularlythe setting of the Master's words.He lifted up His eyes on His disciples, andsaid, "Blessed are ye poor, for yours is theKingdom of God"--"ye shall be filled"--"your reward is great in heaven." Undoubtedlypoverty is a greater aid to discipleshipthan wealth. The cost of discipleshipis the surrender of every earthly ambition to followin the footsteps of Jesus.The rich are disadvantaged because theirs would bethe greater sacrifice. "How hardly shall a rich man enterinto the Kingdom of God"--become a joint-heir withChrist in His Messianic Kingdom which for a thousandyears is to bless the world! The rich are disadvantagedbecause their wealth preserves them from many trials towhich the poor are subjected. They have so many consolationsand comforts now that the thought of sacrificingthese to follow the Master appalls them, and the Kingdomglories seem to them less real and less attractive than tothe disconsolate.The lesson for us is that if we would win the greatPrize and the Kingdom we must not set our hearts uponearthly things, nor trust in uncertain riches. Contrariwise,we must realize that our all, much or little, is theLord's, and that faithfulness in sacrificing what we havewill decide whether or not we shall share His glory.THE RICH MAN IN HELLThe second part of our lesson is one of our Lord'smost striking parables. We read that He opened Hismouth in parables and dark sayings, "that, hearing, theymight hear and not understand." Of all our Lord's parablesthis one has been most seriously misunderstood. Indeed,it is accepted as a literal statement, notwithstanding thefact that we read again, "Without a parable spake Henot unto them." Only a slight investigation, however, isnecessary to demonstrate that this is a parable--that itwould be unreasonable to consider it to be a statement ofliteral facts. For instance, it would be unreasonable tosuppose that a man would be sent, after death, to tormentmerely because in the present life he fared sumptuouslyevery day, lived in a fine house, and wore purple and finelinen. Nothing whatever is said about the character of theman, good or bad, and we are not permitted to add to theWord of God. The Rich Man represented a class.Similarly, the poor man, after death, must have symbolizeda class, because no reason is given for his blessingafter death, except that he was poor, covered with soresand lay at the rich man's gate eating his crumbs.Considered as a parable, this is one of the most interesting